Railway track-instrument



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. G. STEENBERGH. RAILWAY TRACK INSTRUMENT.

No. 401,664. Patented Apr. 16, 18819.

7 WITNESSES: i INVENT'DH M w wy/a/ A (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. O. STEENBERGH.

RAILWAY TRACK INSTRUMENT.

No. 401,664. Patented Apr. 16, 1889.

ATTORNEY S.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEORGE O. STEENBERGH, OF SYRACUSE, NEWV YORK.

RAILWAY TRACK-INSTRUMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 401,664, dated April 16, 1889. Application filed August 3, 1883. Serial No. 282,266. (No model.)

T0 whom it may concern: F

Be it known that I, GEORGE O. STEENBERGH, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York, have invented new and useful Improvements in Railway Track-Instruments, of which the following, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and. exact description.

This invention relates to the class of railway track-instruments which are designed to make an d break electric signals, and are actuated by pressure from the car-wheels passing on said track 5 and the invention consists in a novel construction and combination of parts constituting a track-instrument which is efficient, reliable, and durable inits operation, as hereinafter described,and speci lical 1y set forth in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure l is an elevation of my improved track instrument, taken immediately at the outside of the trackrail and showing the same in its operative position. Fig. 2 is a horizontal section 011 line 00 00, Fig. 1. Fig. is a vertical transverse section on line y 2 Fig. 2, showing the instrument in its normal or dormant position. Fig. 4 is a side view of the leversin their dormant position, andFig. 5 is a vertical transverse section on line ,2 c, Fig. 2.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

R denotes one of the track-rails.

a a are two spring-levers, which I designate the primary levers, said levers being arranged close to the outer side of said rail and parallel therewith, and with their free ends toward each other and somewhat higher than the top of the rail, so as to be depressed by the treads of the wheels passing over said levers.

Z Z represent two two armed levers, which I term supplemental levers. Each of these levers operates independently of the other and has one of its arms under the free end of one of the levers a, and upon the other arm of each of said levers rests a plunger, Z), the upper end of which is provided with a head, 71, which is beveled on the side facing the companion plunger. Suitable springs, ff, may be employed for pressing the plungers downward and insure a quick movement of the same to their normal position after each action of the Over the beveled heads of the plunone side and in opposite directions from each other by the beveled heads of the plungers b b, when the latter are tilted by the lovers Z Z. The aforesaid spring-rods have connected to them electric conductors h h and constitute movable electrodes. In the path of the free ends of the spring-rods are arranged stationary electrodes of the form of metallic contacts f f, to which are connected electric conductors a n, the spring-rods c 0 being normally in contact with said plates, as illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawings. Across the free ends of the spring-rods is arranged a push-bar or slide, (Z, to which are rigidly secured two collars, e e,.arranged between the spring-rods and contiguous thereto when in a normal position.

The operation of the described instrument is as follows: A car-wheel passing on the track first depresses one of the primary levers a and thereby causes the correspondingsupplemental lever Z to push up one of the plungers b, as shown in Fig. l of the drawings. The beveled head h of this plunger crowds to one side the free end of the spring rod c, which is directly over it, and this spring-rod pushes along the slide (Z, and the engagement of the collar c with the second spring-rod causes the latter to be pushed in the same direction and thereby carries the same past the subjaccnt plunger-head 72., so as to allow this plunger to rise without actuating the said spring-rod as the car-wheel passes over the second primary lever a. This latter spring-rod is thus maintained in contact with the stationary electrode f while the other spring-rod is thrown off from the stationary electrode.

Each set of stationary and movable electrodes is in a separate circuit, and the object of the described instrument is to break only one of said circuits by the car-wheels passing in one direction, and this is accomplished in the manner aforesaid.

Having described myinventiomwhat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-

1. A railway track-instrument comprising two primary levers lying in opposite directions along the side of the track-rail to be successively depressed by the car-wheels passing over said lever, supplemental levers operating independently of each other and actuated respectively by the primary levers, two plungers each actuated by one of the supplemental levers, movable electrodes carried in opposite direction from each other by the plungers, stationary electrodes in the path of the movable electrodes, a push-bar transmitting motion from the first actuated electrode to the second electrode and throwing the latter out of the path of the plunger, and electric conductors extended from the respective electrodes, substantially as described and shown.

2. The within-described track-instrument consisting of the levers a a, lying with their free ends toward each other and in proximity to and higher than the track-rail, the two twoarmed levers Z Z, each having one arm under the free end of one of the levers a, the plungers b b, resting on the second arm of the respective levers l l, and provided at their upper ends with the beveled heads h h, the metallic spring-rods c 0, having their free ends over the said heads, the slide d, having the collars e 6 between the said spring-rods, metallic contacts f f in the path of the spring-rods, and

electric conductors extended from the afore- State of New York, this 1st day of August, 35

GEORGE C. STEENBERGH. [L. s.] Witnesses:

O. L. BENDIXON,

W. W. DEWEY. 

